Teeth Time

Today we had our first dentist visits. I have been putting it off for two years. I'd think about it but didn't know where to take them. There aren't any pediatric dentists near us. When talking to my friend, Chrissi, she highly recommended Dr. Egger in Moline. She said that her son had some bad dental experiences and was scared to death of anything being done to his teeth but they went to Dr. Egger and he's now okay with going for dental visits. She couldn't say enough good things about him. So I made the appoinment. I could tell this office was great when I made the appointment -- they sent all the paperwork I had to fill out ahead of time so I didn't have to do that at the office 3 forms per kid! They explained everything on the phone as to what may be done during the appointment and I asked if I should bring "help" and they said they didn't want extra adults because sometimes they make it worse. This week I talked to the kids about what was going to happen when we visited. As always Addison was super excited, Caden was nervous, and Ethan didn't know what was going on. Since it's about an hour drive and I didn't know exactly where the office was, we arrived about 20 minutes early but didn't have to wait very long in the waiting room. First the kids had to brush their teeth. Caden was so cute. As soon as we got past the waiting room, he had his little mouth wide open waiting ready for his teeth to be checked. After that Addison and Caden sat in the dental chairs that are in a big room that holds 4 of these chairs. Two other kids were already in the other chairs. Addison and Caden had their teeth cleaned meanwhile, Dr. Egger checked out the other patients. Ethan had his teeth cleaned by Dr. Egger himself and then Addison and Caden had their teeth checked also. They gave the kids magnadoodles to play with while they waited. I thought for sure Ethan was not going to go for the check up or the cleaning. He has a hard time with me brushing his teeth. I only had to hold his hands a couple of times. Dr. Egger is so fun and gentle and knows just how to deal with kids. After everyone was checked out, surprisingly with NO cavities. They each got to pick a toy -- this was the hardest part deciding and only choosing one. When we got out to the car -- the whole ordeal took 45 minutes. Wow! I wish all our doctors were as fast, fun, and considerate as Dr. Egger (and his entire staff). If you need a dentist for your kids, let me know I'll be more than happy to give you his number!

On another note, Reesey felt left out since she didn't have a dental appointment so she wanted to get her teeth some attention so she now trying to get in some top teeth. I never knew when her brothers and sister were teething -- there would just be teeth in there one day and that's how I knew. She on the other hand is making up for them. She is not fairing so well: watery eyes, running nose, sneezing, pulling at her ear, and just not herself. She didn't sleep well last night (there was a lot of crying and fussing and not getting comfortable even when I let her sleep in our bed) and I don't think tonight's going to be much better. I think we are headed to the doctor tomorrow to have her checked out.